


The World Under Heaven

by SplicesOfNight, the_oreo



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Future Fic, Multi, Post LOK, alternative universe, this is basically the next series if there was one and if Korra had died (I'M SORRY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-15 17:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7231231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SplicesOfNight/pseuds/SplicesOfNight, https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_oreo/pseuds/the_oreo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sixteen years have passed since the death of Avatar Korra at the hands of General Kuvira.  A growing resistance lead by Korra's friends struggles to put a stop to the new Earth Empire as it creeps nearer and nearer Water Tribe borders.  With few resources, Korra gone, and no sign of a new avatar in sixteen years, the resistance fears the Avatar Cycle has been broken forever, and with it their chances of stopping Kuvira.</p><p>Amidst the growing resistance attacks, a new player has entered the fray-- a young Earth Empire soldier and Strategos Kuvira's protégé...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

_“The world under heaven,_  
_after a long period of division,_  
_tends to unite;_  
_after a long period of union,_  
_tends to divide._  
_This has been so since antiquity.”_  
\- Luo Guanzhong 

* * *

A soft wind rustled the tall grass at the base of a large tree beside the depot. Suyin crept a little closer and moved some of the grass aside to get a better look at what was happening only yards away.

A large train stood still on the tracks, smoking softly in the near dark. Morning was creeping closer. Suyin could already see the first rays of light stroking the mountain tops, smell the moist early morning air rising up from the earth.

The train depot was not particularly busy. There were just a few metalbenders and soldiers milling around the building, rubbing the chill from their arms and the sleep from their eyes. But Suyin knew better. If this train really was carrying the materials Asami needed she was sure there would be a whole troop of other soldiers in the depot, or waiting inside the train cars. The thought sent a thrill of adrenaline spiking through her. Despite her old age, Suyin Beifong had never quite lost the excitement she felt before a fight.

Without turning she signaled over her shoulder. Immediately a figure appeared at her side. Like her, the figure was masked in black cloth from head to toe except for a gap through which a pair of bright green eyes glimmered with anticipation.

“Take Deing and get in close. Check for platinum,” Su said.

Opal nodded and retreated. There was silence for a few minutes. Up ahead a couple of the soldiers were engaged in a low conversation. Suyin glanced around behind her. Three figures stared back at her. Her family. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned back around.

Opal was bounding towards the train from the side opposite the depot, hidden from the view of the soldiers, a small boy riding on her back, her feet so light that even the metalbenders on the other side of the tracks couldn’t feel the footfalls. 

She stopped right beside one of the giant wheels of the second train car. The boy climbed down from her back. He pressed his hands against the train for a moment and then got back on Opal’s back.

A minute later and the two were crawling back towards Suyin and the group from behind. Suyin abandoned her post and the group fell back behind the big tree that was sheltering them. 

“It’s no good,” Deing said in a whisper, “the train car is pure platinum.”

From behind Opal Lin swore under her breath.

“Wait, it’s not all bad,” Deing continued. “I was close enough to be able to tell that cars behind it aren’t made of platinum, so that means that-”

“That means that this must be the cart where the stuff is being held,” Wing said. “Good job, Deing.” Wing ruffled his son’s hair. Wei smiled at him.

“Alright, this means we’re going to have to penetrate the train through the doors,” Su said, “I suggest an over the top approach. We need to get right up next to that platinum train car.”

Everyone nodded. They retreated back into the shelter of the woods a ways, but close enough that they could still see the train between the trunks. Then they crept along, following the length of the train and trying to make their footfalls as light as possible. 

Experience had long since taught them that the guards generally weren’t paying close attention, but a number of heavy footsteps suddenly coming so close to their precious cargo would certainly trigger some kind of alarm. It had only taken one panicked escape for the Beifongs to learn it was best to approach a large group of enemy earthbenders with light feet.

“Okay,” Su said, “Lin will go first. Opal, keep a lookout. When Lin gives the all clear, Wing and Wei, you two launch us all over the top. We should try to subdue the guards in the immediate area as quickly as possible, but don’t forget what our objective is. If you see a chance to get in the train and get what Asami needs, you take it. Everyone understand?”

The Beifongs all nodded. It wasn’t exactly a specifically laid plan, but after so long of doing this type of thing together the group never really needed much of a plan anyways.

Su nodded at Opal and with a woosh of air, she lifted herself up in the tree.

A few minutes later, they heard her call down softly, “It’s clear.” 

Lin thrust her fists toward the rail car. Her cables followed. They moved like a pair of striking snakes and latched onto the top of the car. Lin pulled herself quickly up onto the roof, landing in a soft crouch. She lay flat on her stomach and observed the guards loading the remaining supplies on one of the other cars. There were three unoccupied guards idling just beside the car doors while a few others loaded heavy looking crates in through a ramp. The crates were coming from a truck parked just beside the little depot building. It was nearly empty. As she watched, two of the soldiers slid the last crate out of the truck bed and started towards the train. She squinted. The crate had a strange symbol stamped on the top. A triangle with several curved lines traced around it. She suddenly had a mental image of Asami sliding a piece of paper across a table.

“This is the symbol that is usually used to identify these parts. Just look for this and you’ll find what we need.”

Lin grinned. Or at least, she did the closest thing to a grin she could muster. She crawled back towards the edge of the train car behind her and stuck her head out over the edge. Four faces stared back up at her. 

Lin gestured gestured down towards the train car, indicating that this was, indeed, where Asami’s parts were being transported. They all nodded.

Wing and Wei moved to the sides of the group simultaneously, as if this was a well rehearsed dance. Each pulled their arms back and, with a forceful motion, punched both fists skyward.

The slab of rock underneath the Beifongs lurched violently. The four Beifongs were sent flying right over the train car, landing right in the middle of a group of soldiers.

There was a split second when nothing happened. Then pandemonium broke out. Cables were whipping around, chunks of rock were flying. The soldiers seemed stunned at first at the sudden arrival of a group of hostile metalbenders, but they quickly fought back. Wing and Wei were engaged with three soldiers that were hurtling huge chunks of rock at them. They smashed and slapped the rocks out of the way with their dancing cables. Broken bits of rock showered down on the whole party. The noise brought more soldiers bursting out of the depot, out of train cars down the line. 

Lin leapt down from the roof of the car and knocked a soldier blocking the car doors out of the way with a vicious rock bent right at the man’s chest. She wrapped her cables around the car handles. The doors slammed open loudly. Lin jumped inside and looked around for the marked crates.

\---

Somewhere, far down the line of trains, Kavani’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked several times. The train car she was hiding away in came into focus. Crates stacked in every corner. Sacks piled up against the walls. Was it time to leave already? She supposed that anxious captain had been searching for her like mad.

“The Great Uniter has given instructions that you are to be kept under guard at all times during your journey.”

Great Uniter. Kavani didn’t understand why so many people still insisted on calling Kuvira that. The Earth Empire had been united for more than a decade. Strategos. That is what she was to be called now. That is what she was.

The train car rattled violently. Kavani stood up and straightened her uniform. A sack at the top of the pile she had been sleeping against slipped off and landed at her feet. Surely they weren’t starting the train without having found her. She was supposed to be in the plush officer’s car in the back avoiding the stares of several anxious new lieutenants, not napping peacefully in one of the cargo cars.

But no, the train wasn’t really moving. There was no ceaseless grating sound of the wheels on the track. No slow swaying.

Another rattle nearly knocked her off of her feet. Shouts from outside reached her ears. She could hear the sound of pounding feet, feel the footfalls reverberating through the earth and into the metal train car. She waved an arm at the car door and it was bent open.

Outside the air was cold and crisp. She jumped from the car and it slapped her in the face. All drowsiness was knocked out of her. 

No one seemed to notice her sudden appearance. Soldiers all around her were sprinting towards the front of the train where the shouts were coming from.

\---

Lin found the crates quickly. There were only two of them, and it seemed several other crates had been hastily stacked on top of them, hiding them away. She bent two long cables so they wrapped tightly around the crates like gift ribbons, and lifted. The crates were much heavier than she expected. She nearly dropped them, but managed to hang on.

Outside was a sea of green uniformed bodies unconscious on the ground. Deing was exchanging rocks with a group of soldiers half hiding behind the depot. Wing and Wei were still whipping their cables around. Suyin was entangled in a conflict with another metalbender.

The metalbender was fending off each and every attack Su threw at him. Her cables would nearly reach him only to be knocked away. Meanwhile the metalbender was shooting dangerous shards of metal at her from the gauntlets on his arms. Su ducked to the ground to avoid a heavy volley of the projectiles and struck out desperately with her cables. They wrapped tightly around the soldier’s middle and trapped one of his arms. Su jumped up and went to pull back hard on the cable, but before she could manage it, the metalbender sliced through the cable with a blade from his gauntlet. Suyin cried in frustration and raised her fists to defend herself.

A huge rock out of nowhere struck the metalbender full on in the chest. He flew backwards and smashed into the depot. Wing appeared next to his mother.

“Thank you, dear,” Su said. She kissed her son on the cheek. Wing nodded.

“Lin’s got the crates,” he said, “time to go.”

The Earth Empire forces were scattered. More soldiers were still running towards them, but the vast majority were laying on the ground, moaning or unconscious. It was now or never. Lin sprinted to Su’s side. The crates were still held in her cables.

“Here, take one of these, will you?” she asked, and without waiting for an answer she tossed a crate at Wing. He caught it, shaking his head but smiling. 

“Let’s go!” Su yelled. The Beifongs all turned to leave.

They had only reached the head of the train when the ground rippled and shook. The rock fractured and fell apart under their feet. They struggled to maintain their footing. The crate fell from Wing’s arms. Others lost their balance and fell over.

A girl was standing several train cars back, one foot planted powerfully in the earth. The Beifongs barely had time to register the lieutenant’s uniform, the Earth Empire military haircut, sides shaved, before she jumped into the air towards them. She threw her fists rapidly. Huge rocks tore themselves out of the ground behind her and rocketed over her shoulders at the Beifongs.

They all dove away not a second too soon. The rocks embedded themselves into the ground where they had just been standing. Dust billowed up from the impacts.

The girl landed on one foot and spun around. Her other leg whipped across the ground and sent more rocks hurtling towards them. She was bending rocks so fast that the Beifongs only had time to block or dive out of the way. More soldiers were appearing at the girl’s side. They added to the volley. 

Wing finally broke free and used a rock slab to launch himself at the girl. There was a second suspended in time where Wing was at the top of a high arch, flying towards the girl, and then he was right on top of her. She dodged him, turned, and sent a rock at his back. He slashed it away with a cable and it hit a nearby soldier.

The other soldiers were continuing their assault while Wing and the young lieutenant faced off. Wing slashed with his cables. He tried knocking her off her balance by tearing up the ground, but the girl danced out of his reach, fast, and light on her feet. He would have to find a way to use this against her. Light-footed earthbenders weren’t something he was used to dealing with. But non-metalbenders he could handle.

Wing shot two cables out of his wrist. As expected the girl twisted just out of their way. They crossed within an inch of her chest. He bent his fingers sharply. The cables curved, looping around the girl. Wing grinned.

Then Wing felt a powerful jerk on his wrist. The girl had both palms held out over the cable, bending it around. Wing wasn’t prepared for this. The momentum of his own metalbending plus the extra force the girl put on the cables sent him flying past her. She jumped out of the way. The cables got tangled. Wing sprawled on the ground and slid several yards.

The girl didn’t wait for him to get up. She lifted one giant rock out of the ground with a fist and and swung to bring it down on him.

\---

Air rushed in all around Kavani. It forced itself down her throat, knocked her off her feet. The boulder she had been holding over the dark figure was blown away. It smashed into several of the soldiers further along.

Kavani rolled over onto her feet again. Another figure had joined the fray. A small figure, thin and darkly dressed just like the others, but this one wasn’t throwing rocks or metal.

An airbender.

Kavani brought up her fists again. A few rocks rose at her side, but the airbender was already retreating. They were all retreating. The man she had been fighting had already slipped away. They were disappearing into the trees.

“Well don’t just stand there, go after them!” Kavani yelled. Soldiers ran after the attackers. Kavani let the rocks fall and wiped her lip with her hand. Blood came off on it. She could taste it in her mouth, too. A cut in her lip had been opened up by a small piece of flying rock or perhaps a cable. She wasn’t sure which.

The captain appeared at her side. He was breathing heavily and looked as if he had just sprinted here all the way from Ba Sing Se. Several other officers were hot on his heels.

“Wha- what happened?” he panted.

“We were attacked,” she said. Then she added, “under your watch.”

The captain looked mortified.

“By whom?” he asked. Kavani shrugged. She started towards the turned up earth where the assailants had been standing only moments before.

“I don’t know, but I guess we know what they were after,” she said.

She stared down at the crate at her feet and knocked it over with a small kick. A triangle with strange lines around it was stamped on top.

A private ran up to them.

"Sir, we've searched the car. Nothing was taken except two crates. We found one busted open during our pursuit and half its contents gone."

"One of these?" Kavani asked. She nudged the crate with the toe of her boot. 

The private nodded.

“Make sure you continue the pursuit," Kavani said.

The soldier looked a little confused at being given orders by a teenager, but nodded and sprinted off.

Kavani turned to the captain. 

"Well, Kuvira will be interested to hear about this," she said. 

The captain gulped.


	2. Chapter 2

Kavani was relieved to get out of the train when it finally reached their destination and ground to a screeching halt. The train had barely stopped shuddering when she leapt from the door to the ground, not even waiting for the stairs to be lowered from the officer’s car. The captain and the other officers stared anxiously after her. She ignored them. It had been awkward enough being trapped in a small car with them for hours at a time, especially after the attack. They had all been pointedly avoiding catching her eye, but she had caught them all staring at some point or another. 

Soldiers were starting to pour out of the other train cars like bees from a hive. A few of them caught sight of her and a wave of silence swept over the crowd followed by a brief bout of muttering and pointed whispers. Kavani pretended she hadn’t noticed and strode on through the gathering crowd towards the looming fortress ahead of them. The soldiers parted around her like water breaking on a rock.

The building far ahead of them was huge and intimidating. The prison was built into the side of a huge cliff face that stretched for several miles in either direction in front of a range of huge mountains. There were few windows peeking through the expanses of rock and metal. Several layers of tall fences surrounded it. The tops were wrapped in coils of barbed wire and they stretched around the building in a wide arch before vanishing from view. A series of gates with tall guard towers were set up, the only way to get in or out. Kavani spent several minutes taking it in. There were a few tall towers sticking out from the top of the cliff as well as below. On each Kavani could see guards milling about.

But if Kavani thought the prison looked intimidating, it was nothing to the mountains that surrounded it. She had only ever seen these peaks from a distance. They pierced the sky like needles. Though winter had long since lapsed into spring, each peak was topped with a layer of snow.

“Lieutenant, Kavani.”

The voice drew her out of her contemplation. A broad man with greying hair was standing in front of her.

“General,” Kavani said with a nod, noticing the patches on his shoulders that designated his rank.

“General Xi. Welcome to The Pit. Strategos Kuvira has asked me to come bring you to her,” he said.

Kavani nodded.

“Alright, General.”

Xi turned at once and marched off to the left. At first Kavani thought he was taking her to the train station building, but then she noticed a military satomobile waiting for them. A boy who looked much too young to be behind the wheel was sitting, sweaty faced, in the driver’s seat. As they approached Kavani could see that his knuckles were white against the steering wheel.

General Xi opened the door for her. She grudgingly slid into the back seat and Xi got into the passenger’s seat in front of her. The satomobile lurched forward.

They passed through the first two gates, the guards nodding to General Xi as they passed. As they went General Xi kept up a running commentary on just about everything you could want to know about the prison. By the time they pulled up to the third gate Kavani already knew exactly how many prisoners were kept here, and how the guards dealt with prisoners of different nations and bending capabilities.

“Non-earthbending prisoners spend a large part of their day outside, working. Otherwise, during day hours they are allowed to congregate in a central common chamber on the first floor, heavily supervised of course. After hours, prisoners are confined to their personal quarters on the upper floors. The top floor is restricted to staff only, where we have a few observation rooms for watching the common chamber, and…”

Xi rambled on as Kavani’s attention waned. The satomobile was now peeling around the building between the second and third fence, and the working prisoners had come into view. The work fields of The Pit stretched on and on along the cliff. Kavani was shocked at the size of the operation. She could see bent figures chipping away at the rock for a couple miles. Most of the prisoners ignored the satomobile, but one girl looked up when they passed. She was tall and muscular, but couldn’t have been much older than Kavani. Her vivid blue eyes locked onto Kavani’s mild green ones for a second and then the girl tore her gaze away and bent back over the ground. Kavani turned in her seat to watch her disappear behind them.

The satomobile finally pulled through a third gate and parked next to a set of doors in the side of the pit. Kavani was glad to have finally arrived. Xi’s ceaseless ramblings had finally stopped. The sweaty-faced youth saluted to both of them and then took off again.

The inside of the prison was very dark after so much time out in the sun. Kavani blinked and let her eyes adjust. They were in a narrow metal hallway. A strange sense of claustrophobia stole over her. She placed a palm against the wall as they passed. Platinum.

Xi showed her into an elevator. They rode up to the top floor in silence.  
When the door opened Kavani was relieved to see a familiar figure standing just across from the elevator, staring out of the huge domed window that covered the gap to the prison common areas below.

Though her hair had begun showing signs of grey, Kuvira had lost none of her ferocity since the battle for Republic City. She stood tall and intimidating, her hands clasped behind her back. Shoulders upright, back straight. She turned to face them when the doors opened, and when she saw Kavani she smiled.

“Ah, lieutenant Kavani. I’m glad you’ve arrived.”

“Strategos.” Kavani bowed low. Kuvira nodded in acknowledgment.

“General Xi, you may leave us,” she said without looking at him. The general bowed and turned back into the elevator.

Now Kuvira led the way. The top floor, like the rest of the building, was structured around a great circular open area. On each floor the walls were lined with prison cells, and down on the floor was the common area. The top floor of cells was sealed off from the highest floor by a large domed window that covered it.

They moved around the dome and finally entered a room that was pressed up straight against the glass so that Kavani could have leaned on it and stared down at the prisoners below if she had wanted to. 

Kavani had been expecting a stark observation deck, but the room was actually quite quaint. It looked as if a small restaurant had been installed in the prison. Small tables were sitting at random around the room and the walls were covered with beautiful paintings. She recognized a portrait of Kuvira, and her eyes lingered over a large landscape that featured a giant mecha suit looming over a cityscape. The colossus. Kavani new the history, of course, but seeing a picture of the thing in front of her was something quite different. It made her breath catch in her throat.

“So I hear that your trip was… eventful?”

Kavani tore her eyes from the painting. Kuvira was taking a seat at one of the tables near the window. Kavani hastened to join her. She sat down and smoothed the front of her uniform surreptitiously.

“Yes. I’m sure you heard we had a run in with a group of thieves.”

Kuvira nods. A server appeared carrying a tea tray. He sat it on the table and poured out a cup of tea for each of them before disappearing again.

“The captain sent a telegram ahead of you, but I heard you were directly involved.”

She blew on her tea and raised the cup to her lips, looking at Kavani intently.

Kavani nodded and began explaining what had happened. She told Kuvira how she had noticed the train rattling, gone out to see what was going on, and gotten involved in the fight, neglecting to mention the fact that she she had been napping in a cargo car.

It was hard to read Kuvira’s reaction. Her eyes were always piercing, so shrewd and calculating. Kavani had grown used to not being able to read her mentor’s expressions. To her relief, Kuvira smiled.

“I’m proud of you, Kavani. You’ve done well.”

Kavani’s heart jumped. She could feel a smile threatening to come out, and she quickly raised the cup of tea to her mouth and took a sip. The hot liquid rushed down her throat.

The server was back again. This time he had brought a pair of plates and a tray of little sandwiches, biscuits, and pastries.

Kuvira was watching Kavani carefully. She took a biscuit and popped it into her mouth.

“In fact, you’ve been exceptional in the last few years, Kavani,” Kuvira started. “You’ve become a skilled earthbender, and proved loyal and smart on your feet. I think it’s time that you started taking a more active role in the Earth Empire.”

Kavani nearly choked on her food.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes,” Kuvira said. “I work tirelessly to maintain peace and order in my empire, but there are still those who would try to tear this nation apart.”

She wasn’t looking at Kavani now. She was staring out of the window absently.

“I’ve been having problems with groups like the ones you encountered for years. Thieves. Vandals. There’s always someone who wants a war.”

“Yeah,” Kavani said, “it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to sabotage all the work that’s been done. Especially our own people. Earthbenders trying to destroy the Earth Empire. Well, I mean there was the airbender too--”

“What?!”

Kavani nearly dropped her cup in surprise. The hot tea splashed down her hands.

“The captain didn’t tell you in the telegram?”

“Tell me exactly who was there!”

“It was a bunch of earthbenders and one airbender,” Kavani said. The look on Kuvira’s face was starting to alarm her.

“Where the earthbenders metalbenders too?”

“Yes.”

Kuvira narrowed her eyes. The teacup in her hand was shaking so hard she had to sit it down.

Kavani had never seen Kuvira like this. Out of control. Or rather, less in it.

Kuvira cleared her throat, and then her face cleared. “Excuse me. I lost myself there.” 

Kavani was silent. Kuvira tapped the side of her cup rhythmically, thinking. Kavani waited.

“Have you heard of the Beifong family before, Kavani?”

The name was familiar, but Kavani had never heard more of them other than whispers of common folk and petty soldiers. More like rumors than anything else. Supposedly they were a part of some kind of “resistance.”

“The rebels?”

“Anarchists.” Kuvira said, “Rebel is too kind a word.”

“I can’t say I know anything more than that.”

“The Beifongs and I have...a very long history. Longer than I care to explain. As you know, I’ve worked hard to build this nation up from nothing, to make it into what I dreamed, and we’ve both encountered people who refuse to realize that dream.”

Kavani noticed Kuvira clench her fist, twisting the tablecloth under her fingers.

“But the Beifongs…even before the Earth Kingdom was unified, they were there at every turn. Trying to stop me. Trying to stop progress. Fighting with anything they could. Any rock or scrap of metal, anyone who would stoop to their level. Resisting me under the guise of righteousness and justice-”

Crunch.

The spoon in Kuvira’s cup was nothing more than a twisted chunk of metal, the cup shattered. The older woman took a deep breath and straightened her back. She pulled her right glove down her wrist.

“The Beifongs are against everything this we stand for. Everything this Empire means and the good it’s done. It doesn’t surprise me they’ve returned for a second round.” Lifting the metal out of cup, she straightened the spoon to it’s original shape. Almost. 

“There’s been a rise in theft of military materials lately. I’ve been struggling to think of who it might be or what they want, but the events were too disconnected to tell. It’s been more annoying than anything else, since they haven’t seemed to be stealing anything of importance. Now that we’ve identified our thieves, I can’t help but think there must be a pattern of sorts.” 

Kavani swallowed. “There could be, but they mostly just took any platinum parts they could. They tried to take some glass and a crate of burnt out copper, but I don’t see a purpose for that other than to agitate us.”

Silence. For a few seconds, Kavani feared she’d said something wrong.

“The first thing you need to know about the Beifongs, Kavani, is that everything they do has a purpose. I know this is asking a lot of you, especially since you’ve come here to complete your training, but you’ll need to assume more responsibility sooner than I planned. We can’t ignore these incidents now that we know who’s behind them, and I need someone I trust on this. Someone who’s competent without my supervision.” 

She looked at Kavani seriously. 

“I want you to be that. My eyes and ears on any of these thefts, and to help me think of what and why they are stealing, and where they will do it next. I want you to make the Beifongs your first priority. Can you do this for me?”

Kavani straightened herself. “Absolutely.”

Kuvira smiled. “Good.”

They finished eating normally. A servant came out and cleared away the broken plate while Kuvira talked about Kavani’s training. It had devolved more or less into one of their usual conversations, and Kavani found herself relaxing, tracing small circles on the side of her empty cup. She was watching the prisoners down on the floor far below them out the dome window. Something must have just happened because there was a sudden influx of prisoners milling about. She squinted at them. From what she could make out there was a man with a wild curl of hair sitting atop a stack of chairs. He appeared to be wearing a top hat made of cardboard and was roaring with laughter at a large group of other prisoners below him who were scrambling around as if playing some sort of game. Kavani noticed a chicken squeezed awkwardly under one of the man’s arms.

“Always causing havoc, that one.” Kavani jumped. General Xi had returned and he was looking down at the strange man distastefully.

“I’d rather he was causing havoc in here, than outside,” Kuvira said darkly. Kavani wondered what the man had done to earn such venom. He seemed harmless, if a bit eccentric.

“All the prisoners are, of course, at your disposal if you think they might have relevant information to your task. The prison staff have all been instructed to obey your every order,” Kuvira told her, and she nodded. “Was there something you wanted, General?”

“Oh yes. I just came to tell you that the prisoner you wanted is in place,” he said.

“Well, Kavani,” Kuvira said, standing, “it is time to introduce you to your new instructor.”

Kuvira led Kavani back through the hall around the domed window and into another room with nothing but a long table and a dozen chairs in it.

A man was sitting in a chair at the opposite end of the table. He had a thin displeased face. His grey hair was long, and he had a short beard running along his jaw. His hands, which were resting on the table in front of him, were held together with a pair of manacles. Kavani stared at him.

“Kavani, I’d like to introduce you to your new instructor. This is Hokar, and he has kindly agreed to teach you.”

But Hokar didn’t look kind. His grey eyes were cold and still, staring Kuvira down, but Kuvira didn’t look uncomfortable. On the contrary, a slight smirk flit across her lips.

“Well, Hokar, aren’t you going to greet her?” Kuvira asked. Kavani crossed her arms.

Hokar shot a glare at Kuvira and cleared his throat. He stared Kavani in the eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Avatar Kavani.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Any feedback would be welcome! Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Returning to the Vault always made Suyin nervous. It was so quiet and empty on the outside. Crumbling and overrun with plants, the Western Air Temple always looked like it hadn’t been visited in decades. She imagined the tall towers crumbling away into nothing.

It made her nervous, too, that she couldn’t feel the Vault buried in the earth. Her feet shifted anxiously against the rock, but she could feel no sign of a cavity. Asami had designed the Vault this way, of course. It had taken precious months of designing and planning while in the meantime the resistance had fled to every corner of the Earth Empire to avoid getting caught. Now they had a secure facility, but Suyin couldn’t help but imagine troops raiding the place in their absence. She was always afraid of what they’d find inside.

Of course, everything was fine. It didn’t take long to find the entrance, and after Su pressed her palm against a hidden panel in the rock the door slid open silently, and let the Beifongs in.

\---

“Ouch!” Asami swore under her breath and yanked her hand away from the mess of wires she had been tinkering with. The machine sparked again and she slapped the off switch. The humming that had filled the room ceased and the static fizzled out. Asami sat back and wiped her forehead. This was the third time today she’d had to completely shut the machine off and her patience with it was beginning to wear thin.

“Going well?”

Asami whipped around, ready to fire a retort, but relaxed slightly when she saw who it was.

“Oh, hey Damsun.” Asami sighed and peeled off her gloves. “Come to help me work on this thing?”

The boy leaned against the door frame and took his time brushing his dark hair out of his eyes before answering.

“Actually, dad sent me to tell you that the Beifongs are back.”

Asami immediately perked up. She pushed herself to her feet and brushed her hands off against her pants. 

“Let’s go meet them!” Asami said. On her way out of the room she ruffled Damsun’s hair and he ducked away from her, furiously patting at the top of his head. Asami smirked and started up the stairs.

The Beifongs were already gathered in the small living space upstairs when Asami arrived. Lin had thrown herself into the corner of a stuffy couch, arms crossed. Su was sitting comfortably next to her. The rest of the gang was scattered about on various seats and cushions. Iroh was there too, talking in serious voices with Wing, and Zhu Li was observing from a corner. 

Asami had eyes only for the crate that had been dumped rather haphazardly onto the floor at Lin’s feet. 

“You got it!” Asami said. She rushed into the room and dropped to the floor in front of the crate.

“Not all of it,” Lin said darkly, and Asami’s heart plummeted.

“Oh,” she sat back onto her feet. “What happened?” 

Lin snorted. “I’m too old for this nonsense.”

Asami looked around at the others for explanation. Opal was the one who spoke up.

“There was a Lieutenant, one of Kuvira’s metalbenders. She showed up out of nowhere, and well, we were lucky we got this much out of there what with all the other soldiers that were showing up.” She hung her head. “Sorry, Asami. I hope it’ll be enough.”

Asami opened the crate and stared down at its meager contents. 

“Yeah,” she said, “I do too.” 

There was a brief silence. No one seemed to know what to say.

Asami broke the silence. “Where’s Mako?”

“He went to go look for reports of another delivery after we told him what happened,” Suyin said. “He didn’t seem to think that it would be enough, but…” She looked at Asami hopefully.

Asami shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I think Mako’s right. I’ll still need some more.” She looked up at their dejected faces. “It’s okay. You guys tried really hard, and you did well. This will keep me busy for a while, it’s just not enough to finish.” 

“Well let’s hope Mako finds another accessible shipment soon,” Su said, “These raids are getting more and more difficult.” The others all nodded in agreement.

\---

Dinner was served in a large hall back in the depths of the Vault. Several long benched tables occupied most of the space in the room, but one end housed a long counter behind which an impatient looking woman served up trays of whatever was on the menu that particular day. Most of the tables were full, with the Beifong clan taking up nearly half of the one nearest the counter.

They were starving after the last few days, and tore into their food with gusto, but Suyin took her time. She was feeling uneasy. Asami was looking worried, and no one had heard from Mako since he’d gone to search their records for more Earth Empire shipments. As Su watched, Asami tapped her spoon against the side of her bowl and stirred the contents aimlessly. Next to her, Zhu Li was staring into her own bowl, lost in thought.

Down the table Su noticed Deing chatting with Damsun. He was gesticulating wildly with his arms, clearly reenacting something, probably a moment from their fight while the older boy watched him with mild interest. It made Su smile, but then the smile faltered. What kind of a world were they raising their children in? Twelve years old, and Deing had never known a world where he didn’t have to hide. Neither of the boys had.

She turned away, back to Asami.

“So, this thing you’re building,” Suyin started, “what exactly is it for again?”

“It’s for intercepting and decoding Empire messages,” she explained.

“So it’s like a telegraph?”

“No, no, no.” Zhu Li’s face popped in, seemingly out of nowhere. “It’s far more complicated than that. It doesn’t just pick up and send messages, it decodes Earth Empire codes for us. Kuvira has been becoming increasingly tight on security. The codes change a lot and it’s become difficult for us to crack them before they’re changed again. This machine will do it for us. Instantly.”

Suyin gaped.

“What we’re building…” Asami said, “nothing like it has ever been built before.”

At that moment Mako appeared. He pushed his way in between Suyin and Asami with a bowl of soup in his hands and a scowl on his face.

“Well I found a shipment of more materials, but they’re not moving for another three weeks. Assuming that report is still accurate.” 

He spooned some of the soup into his mouth.

“We’ll be ready this time,” Suyin said, “won’t we?” 

“Of course we will be,” Lin snapped. She turned to Mako, and her voice softened somewhat. “You should come with us this time. We could use another hand.”

Mako swallowed and shook his head.

“No. I don’t think it’s a good idea for too many of us to be in one place at the same time. And anyways, I’m going to the Southern Water Tribe in a few days.” He leaned back in his chair and his scowl increased. “If someone doesn’t tell Tonraq to stop sending warships into Earth Empire waters, there’s going to be an all out war before we can do anything about it.”

“He’s just protecting merchant vessels,” Zhu Li said. “More than a few have been attacked and we all know Kuvira is behind it.”

Mako crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yes, but we don’t need an all out fight,” he said. “The Water Tribe can’t beat Kuvira in an open war, the Fire Nation likely won’t interfere openly unless Kuvira starts sending ships into their waters, and we need both of their covert help if we’re going to bring this thing down from the inside.”

“Basically, everything is a big mess.” Asami smiled ruefully.

“Why is Kuvira sinking Water Tribe ships in the first place?” Zhu Li asked.

“Because she’s power hungry and crazy?” Mako suggested sarcastically.

Asami laughed. “True, but I don’t think that’s it. It’s the platinum. Kuvira’s already torn up most of the Earth Empire looking for it, and she’s running out. She must think she can find more by expanding her territory.” 

Asami looked up at all the faces watching her.

“That means she’s vulnerable. That means the time to strike is now.”


End file.
